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Friday Reads and leaving town...

Sadly, I won't be reading much this weekend -- or the next nine days or so -- as I'm off to a major work conference. It's in (very) sunny Phoenix, AZ which will be a welcome change from wet, gray, rainy, dreary Boston!

I'm very excited, even though I will be so insanely busy I won't do much other than run around with a fringe of sleeping. Of course, even if I think I can't read, I'm still bringing books! (Because if there's a free moment, I'm diving in!) Among the many, many books on my e-reader are these, which I plan on reviewing upon my return: D.B. Jackson's Thieftaker (Colonial American hist fic meets wizards), Susan Fales-Hill's Imperfect Bliss (Jane Austen meets The Bachelorette, according to the book blurb), and Emily Jeanne Miller's Brand New Human Being (contemp novel, man walks in on wife w/another man, takes their kid, leaves, finds self, etc.).

Sadly, I will be very absent here -- I have some reviews scheduled but won't be online to visit and comment -- my apologies! I'll make up for it when I'm back in town. I hope everyone has a lovely reading time -- tell me what you're going to be reading so I can be very envious!

Holy cow! Hope you pack sunscreen! :--) If you have a free night for dinner, Pizzeria Bianco on East Adams St. is supposed to be one of the top in the country (obviously judges aren't from Chicago....)

I hope all goes well at your conference. Have a good time and don't stress too much. I'll be reading Flesh this weekend by Khanh Ha, and I have my monthly book club meeting with Anna and her daughter and some others -- we're talking about Selznick's Wonderstruck.

Hope you are staying cool. ( A/C or reading by the pool). Try FEZ in Downtown Phoenix. 3815 N. Central. My son and daughter-in-law's all time favorite place. POSH but casual, and yummy food with a Mediterranean flair.

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Reviewing books to help authors and publishers promote them has become the meat-and-potatoes of my blog, and I'm not that excited about it. Certainly my free-range reading of these last few months have been refreshing and fun, but even writing about those reads feels like I'm talking to myself.

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